PHONE: (313) 593-5518
DATE: July 5, 2005
Masco Corporation named 'Employer of the Year' by the Michigan Council for Cooperative Education, in recognition for long-term support for internships for UM-Dearborn students
DEARBORN---Taylor-based Masco Corporation
has been named Employer of the Year by the Michigan
Council for Cooperative Education in recognition for their long-term
support for internship programs at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
The award was accepted by Jerry Mollien, Masco's vice president of corporate
tax, at a meeting in Augusta on June 9.
"The purpose of this award is to enable members of the Michigan
Council for Cooperative Education to recognize the outstanding contributions
by an employer in promoting and sustaining quality cooperative education
programs in Michigan," according to the organization's Web site.
Over the last decade, 81 different UM-Dearborn students have completed
133 full-time paid internships at Masco, and many of them have gone on
to become regular employees at the company. Masco was nominated for the
award by Elaine Greene, director of the business
internship program at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
"All of the interns have had excellent learning and professional
growth experiences," Greene said. "Many students have been hired
at Masco or have been guided to jobs in other firms."
At Masco, Mollien has been a strong advocate for internship programs.
He began his involvement with cooperative education when he completed
two internships as an undergraduate at UM-Dearborn more than 30 years
ago. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from
the campus in 1971.
"Jerry is an outstanding individual who is an integral part of our
program and a strong supporter of the principles and activities of cooperative
education throughout Michigan," Greene said.
In 2004, Mollien was instrumental in developing an innovative collaboration
involving Masco, UM-Dearborn and the Ernst & Young accounting firm
to help accounting students master the new skills required due to the
implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. The program allows accounting
students to graduate with eight months of professional work experience
in both the public and private sectors. A similar program is being developed
with Deloitte & Touche.
In addition to his support for the campus's internship programs, Mollien
is a member of the Dean's Advisory Committee of the School
of Management and is an adjunct lecturer in the Department
of Accounting and Finance. He was named the School of Management's
Distinguished Alumnus of the Year earlier this year.
Masco is one of the world's largest manufacturers of brand-name consumer
products for the home and family, with more than 62,000 employees in the
United States and Europe.
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